In the prior art, it is common for telephone sets to be individually configurable. These sets allow users to change, for example, ring volume, ring tone, type of ring, etc. that a particular telephone set uses. Such systems allow users a measure of customization to personalize their telephone set to their personal tastes.
Configurable telephone sets of the prior art have static characteristics that are controlled locally by the telephone set. Thus, prior art telephone sets must be replaced or have hardware replaced in order to provide additional features not originally offered. Thus, upgrading such telephone sets requires location and replacement or physical modification of each phone set to be upgraded. In a large complex or corporation, this could be a time consuming and difficult task.
Therefore, a need exists for a phone set having characteristics that are controllable from a central phone switch. The present invention provides a method and apparatus for controlling phone set characteristics from a central phone switch.